My cousin Wally wandered into town recently, a little worse for wear after being robbed down in Costa Rica.

He'd been travelling for a few months and was about 20 pounds lighter than when he left home. After we got him sorted with a new passport, I asked him what he might like to eat.

'Aw, I dunno. Just no rice and beans'

He was a little shy. I prompted:

'Well, what are you looking forward to eating as soon as you get home'

That did the trick. The reply was whiplash quick;

'Lasagna!'

So that did it.

3 lasagnas.

12 good friends.

1 hungry cousin.

And a pretty Hollywood sunset.

A tradition was born!

Technically, lasagna vs lasagne is a singular / plural thing.

I prefer to think of the different spelling as a reference to how far the true Italian dish has been compromised, adulterated and generally lost in translation.

Giorgio Locatelli refers to the 'lasagna' pumped out by chain restaurants, supermarkets and home cooks in Britain, US and Australia as a type of Shepherd's Pie with pasta simply substituting the potatoes.

He goes on to explain how Italian children cry if their 'lasagne' doesn't stand solidly upright. The pasta is the architecture of the dish, not inches of meat sauce and cheese.

I didn't set out to make Wally a 'lasagne'.

I wasn't feeding Mario Batali, I was feeding a kid who hadn't eaten meat in weeks.

Of course, once I got cooking, I decided invite folks up...

There was the odd dietary concern of the guests to consider...

And before I knew it, there were three pastas baking away in the oven.

And as the sun set over Hollywood, the guests arrived, the wine flowed and, not for the first time, my home became the carbohydrate epicenter of Los Angeles.

This is not an authentic 'lasagne bolognese'

This lasagna would have Marcella Hazan kneeling before the altar and asking the patron saint of pasta to strike me down.

This is lasagna the way an Aussie bloke would make it.

So why drag poor Gina Lollobrgida into this?

Well, she's always struck me as a 'made for t.v.' version of Sophia Loren. If the budget is smaller, if the audience is less discerning or if the performance needs to be just a little over the top, then most producers would settle for Gina over Sophia.

In much the same way, most blokes would opt for the meatier, cheesier, stodgier lasagna that this recipe wields over the finesse of silky sheets of homemade pasta layered with the thinnest streaks of heirloom bolognese sauce and bechemal.

Every layer in this lasagna announces itself with exclamation marks; meat sauce! spinach & ricotta! more meat sauce!! still more spinach and ricotta!! bechamel and a four cheese crust!!!

Wally ate the leftovers for the next four days!

This one came to me out of the blue. I was making two other lasagnas and the idea popped into my head to make one flavoured with Mexican ingredients.

And wouldn't you know, it was the surprise winner of the Lovebite Lasagnarama. It was the first empty dish of the evening! (Primarily because a pregnant woman stole the leftovers, but we won't name names).

It was very simple, largely because I had all of the ingredients at hand and the oven was already on.

Layers of smooth, spiced sweet potato and roasted garlic contrasted with the tartness of a tomatillo, pasilla and chicken sauce. The topping was a trio of Mexican cheeses, baked to a crisp.

Each slice was topped with lashings of freshly made Guacamole.

Pasta la Vista, baby!

This was the lasagna (understandably) preferred by anyone at the Lasagnarama who was likely to appear on camera in the following 48 hrs.

Less fat, less pasta, less cheese and vegetarian; all marquee words on a menu in this town.

Layers of low fat ricotta mixed with broccoli and pesto, oven roasted peppers and tomatoes, porcini mushrooms and light tomato sauce...just enough sin left in to make it feel indulgent but it was light, tasty and the fastest to put together.

Ask any guy if they can cook and they will answer,

'Oh Yeah. I can make spaghetti bolognese'

Without a doubt they will have some secret ingredient ranging from ketchup ('I didn't have any tomato paste, tastes good though'), to garlic peel ('the recipe just said to chop it, it didn't say anything about peeling it!')

Maybe it's a hormonal thing.

Maybe it's a texture thing.

We're just wired to 'meat and noodles'.

In any case, if you want to see us smile, let us all make lasagna.

And let us do it our way!

I'm also dreaming of a braised duck and cavolo nero version.

Maybe you have some favourite recipes you'd like to share?

What's next?

Possibly my best chocolate cake yet.

Stay tuned.

Cheers, Mannix

mannix@thelovebite.com